Each month you will read about new works of history and current events that have been added to the Lambton County Library's collection.

Let us know what you think of this service so we can serve you better.

The Library also offers an alerting service to notify you when new materials on authors and topics of interest for you are added to the collection. You may set this service up with assistance from the library staff.

What it's about: Picking up where his Pulitzer-Prize winning Ghost Wars left off, author Steve Coll examines American intelligence activity in Afghanistan and Pakistan post-9/11 and the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Coll pays particular attention to the complicated relationship between the CIA and Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI).

Reviewers say: Well written and exhaustively researched, Directorate S is a “journalistic masterpiece” (Kirkus Reviews) and “an essential work of contemporary history” (Booklist).

What it's about: Acclaimed, bestselling historian Niall Ferguson tackles collisions between established hierarchies and upstart networks throughout history, arguing that they have led to political and social change. From ancient Rome to the current day, Ferguson looks at various networks such as the 18th-century Illuminati and Facebook.

Further reading: For another thought-provoking and bold rethinking of change throughout time, try Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels by Ian Morris.

This is a flying adventure book set within the framework of the Cold War and told through the lens of the RAF Pilot's Flying Log Book. Philip Keeble's logbooks cover ten different types of aircraft: from learning to fly in a Chipmunk trainer in 1965, right through to flying the Tornado F3 Fighter in 1994. These true tales are told as anecdotal yarns, ones that put flesh on the bare bones of a logbook in an exciting, amusing and self-deprecating way. The narratives stir up memories of escapades and the events leading up to them. They depict exciting sorties, dangerous emergencies, stupid moments, funny occurrences, and operational practices, but also show the balance and contrast of operating in the Cold War.

It was 2004, and Sean McFate had a mission in Burundi: to keep the president alive and prevent the country from spiraling into genocide, without anyone knowing that the United States was involved. The United States was, of course, involved, but only through McFate's employer, the military contractor DynCorp International. Throughout the world, similar scenarios are playing out daily. The United States can no longer go to war without contractors. Yet we don't know much about the industry's structure, its operations, or where it's heading. Typically led by ex-military men, contractor firms are by their very nature secretive. Even the U.S. government-the entity that actually pays them-knows relatively little.

What it's about: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong examine the ways in which rape cases are investigated in the United States. Rather than looking at sexual assaults as a whole, the authors focus on one particular case, that of a teenage victim who was accused of false reporting, resulting in an eye-opening look at how cases can be handled, mishandled, and later resolved.

Is it for you? Readers with an interest in women’s rights, true crime, and criminal justice will want to check this one out

What it's about: Author Jonah Berger has drawn on detailed research to discuss why some trends, products, and ideas take off -- and some don’t. He identifies six key ingredients that work together to promote word-of-mouth popularity and uses real-world examples (the "hit" song "Friday," the Atkins diet, Apple products) as evidence. Surprisingly, he argues that the Internet has less influence than you might expect.

Related reading: Try Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath.

What it's about: At the outset, Flash Boys exposes how post-crisis Wall Street was rigged through computerized stock exchanges. However, the heart of this exciting narrative is the four “Wall Street guys” who figured this out separately -- working independently at different firms -- and then banded together to reform the financial markets.

What it's about: In the mid-1990s, when Chinese companies began flooding American markets with cheaper goods, furniture-making was one of the hardest hit industries. But John Bassett III of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture refused to bow to pressure, fighting to keep his employees through increased efficiency and legal maneuvers, and even traveling to China to expose price-fixing practices.

Why you should read it: Beyond the furniture industry, Factory Man is also a vivid portrait of small-town Bassett, Virginia, and its fascinating inhabitants.

What it's about: Just when you think the world has been overtaken by digital content and products, statistics arrive showing sales of tangible goods like vinyl records are up -- way up. But why? Journalist David Sax examines the surprising reasons why some consumers opt to limit their screen time and purchase printed books, Moleskine notebooks, and film cameras instead.

What it is: Outspoken and impassioned U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren shares her views on how the American middle class is under siege -- and offers strategies on how to save it. She shares the story of her own working-class family in 1960s Oklahoma and discusses why things have changed since the 1980s. Warren also describes her battles in the U.S. Senate on behalf of the shrinking middle class.